 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|

楼主 |
发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
|
显示全部楼层
2# 爱城四少 ) |1 f1 S. ?2 K& z Y( p. m, Q7 k
, K7 x$ r# z/ L
Four people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray., o' E6 X( v" w5 N4 t
( ~6 t' S1 B/ H: Z. H" L* zThree of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.! l# ^- I: q9 U" G, D1 q
: d$ u0 f: p: V. ~# V* v( W, r
One worker was being treated for second and third-degree burns, the most serious types. A second suffered first-degree burns, and a third person had a neck injury.# S. n% k6 [1 J8 h
4 t; e4 Z `3 t$ V. sThe fourth was treated on scene and was to be released., h, N0 k1 {3 J4 x2 n
3 ]- a) f- M+ ` W
"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.
* x `+ q% p. x% k
' A: ~ a* Y# b9 ]Reports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.- \, \9 m+ F, u; [1 w- z4 i
6 ?9 d+ U+ A7 J: `/ k9 p; u) j
A witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."
% p. V# U" E4 ]1 A, a7 D2 E7 E- I/ _5 M4 k! ^3 U! t6 `
And a man whose wife works at the plant was concerned for her safety. "It is a ball of fire," said the man, who would not be named.
$ O' h, a* w2 ^3 h- }- w$ i
0 G4 Z$ ^/ W, r8 qAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.
h, K3 S7 ^; Y6 C" `4 d6 I, A$ V7 s* l$ ` G* j) {% W7 A
Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."" Q* [. j5 [4 w1 H" e0 o4 o0 d
) Q8 Z# u0 u: W" aThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.
, {3 q0 [" f+ V! a6 ~- H! B, i1 F1 F2 o7 M# e1 I* g- n4 m# X
By 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area.
- E) |+ o' Y; j; Q' v, u5 u" o L5 s1 T
Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.4 i+ S4 @1 t& C+ S
2 v( g! u f% _* m6 ~" D3 e0 |
The Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume.' d* L* b5 h$ G& [% q
6 n$ b5 J- `0 W# C3 a% `# J- W7 ^
"Canadian Natural's first priority is the well-being of our personnel and to safely control the situation," said CNRL in a statement.
6 q# J/ e. W( W' V' S7 B7 a/ f9 ]/ D
The upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required. m% T. _* J6 S1 Q
- b. {5 C6 t9 P8 O
Horizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.
6 Y/ J8 ~" Y( [* x* o9 a- \% k" p; G9 g( N5 Y) {
It is impossible to gauge the impact on the company -- or how the incident might affect multibillion-dollar expansion plans for Horizon -- until the extent of the damage is known, said Michael Dunn, an analyst with FirstEnergy Capital Corp.* m3 E+ n2 i0 B1 s1 U. j
: N( }7 F. L& g0 @9 _
A spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.* a) n0 l% m" L Y, K, g
' k: Z6 V9 }$ T6 o8 e- tThe company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.7 x1 c0 N/ W; e7 o" Q' R# @
0 v% E: O9 f* v. v+ j- R( C" PCanadian Natural, Canada's No. 1 independent oil producer, said earlier Thursday that Horizon's output averaged 83,700 barrels per day in December, down 22% from November, as it shut down the upgrader's coker unit for repairs. The company said it had restarted the unit.! K" Y' w( q0 n2 b
, ?3 V' G. m/ g& Z6 K! N, S" E. E. dFires in the complex upgraders have been relatively frequent. Production at Suncor Energy Inc.'s oilsands project was hobbled when a fire broke out at one of its two upgraders in December 2009. A second unit was damaged in another blaze last February.
- i/ a* t( c/ R Q5 t* a* x+ }: L
Horizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
|